TAP sold to Gateway consortium

By Dino D'Amore
June 15, 2015 19:22

The Portuguese government has sold its 61% stake in TAP Portugal to the Gateway consortium, a joint venture between JetBlue Airways and Azul Brazilian Airlines founder David Neeleman and Portuguese bus company Barranquiro Group. This is the second time Avianca Holdings chairman German Efromovich has lost a bid for TAP.

The government expects the sale to generate between €354 million and €488 million over a two-year period. It may exit TAP altogether after 2017 and sell its remaining 34% stake in the airline group. The deal needs to be approved by the European Commission.